“Home buying and selling remained sluggish in March due to the affordability challenges associated with high mortgage rates,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “Residential housing mobility, currently at historical lows, signals the troublesome possibility of less economic mobility for society.”
NAR said existing home sales declined in all four major U.S. regions in March.
In the Northeast, existing home sales declined by 2 percent from February to an annual rate of 490,000, unchanged from March 2024. In the Midwest, they fell by 5 percent to an annual rate of 950,000, down 3.1 percent from the same month last year.
Sales in the South dropped by 5.7 percent from February to an annual rate of 1.81 million, a decline of 4.2 percent from a year earlier. In the West, sales plunged 9.4 percent in March to an annual rate of 770,000 but were up by 1.3 percent from March 2024.
Properties typically remained on the market for 36 days in March, up from 33 days last year, and first-time homebuyers made up 32 percent of March sales. Cash sales accounted for 26 percent of purchases.
Nationally, inventory rose by 8.1 percent from the previous month to 1.33 million at the end of March, creating four months of housing supply.
‘Price Growth Slowed’
An April 17 Zillow report showed that all home sales—including both existing and new—increased in March. The data indicated that home prices were flat compared with last year. Inventory grew by almost 9 percent in March, with more than 375,000 homes on the market, in addition to another 265,000 listings for pending sales in March. As a result, total inventory soared to more than 1.15 million homes, a 19 percent increase from a year prior.Average mortgage rates were lower in 2025, at 6.65 percent compared with 6.82 percent in March 2024.
“With more options available, competition cooled, and home price growth slowed significantly,” the Zillow report said.
Home values in March declined in five major metro areas: Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville in Florida; and San Antonio in Texas, according to Zillow.
Areas where home values increased included San Jose, California; Milwaukee; San Francisco; Pittsburgh; and Hartford, Connecticut.
Zillow reported that the typical single-family home was valued at $359,741 in March. A mortgage payment on that home now demands about 35.3 percent of median household income nationwide, more than 5 percent above the recommended 30 percent income rule.
More than 23 percent of Zillow’s listings received a price cut in March. That compares with just 21.6 percent in February and 20.6 percent one year ago.
Some 24.6 percent of homes sold above their asking prices in March, up from 22.3 percent in January. More than 30 percent of homes were sold above their list prices for the same period in 2024.
The Bronx borough of New York City appeared to be bucking national trends. Closed sales of single-family homes increased by 20.7 percent in March, the highest sales increase in the New York metro area and the lower Hudson Valley. The median sales price of single-family homes rose by 13.6 percent from last year, reaching a new high of $710,000.
Bronx co-op sales were also the highest in the region, soaring by more than 65 percent from March 2024. Median sales prices for co-ops climbed by 26.8 percent to $260,000. Inventory of single-family homes in the Bronx increased by 29.6 percent, while new listings rose by 48.4 percent.
Gregory Tsougranis, associate broker with Keller Williams Realty NYC Group, told The Epoch Times that despite more inventory, investors are driving prices up in the Bronx.
“There is a perfect storm moving investor or syndicate money into the 2 to 4-unit spaces, competing against primary residence home seekers,” he said. “This, in turn, is pushing potential homeowners into the single-family condo and co-op spaces, increasing property prices.”
Tsougranis noted that recent market volatility and political uncertainty also pumped additional investment funds into the local real estate market.
“One correlation not often discussed is the influx of money into real estate during wild fluctuations in the stock market for real or believed political instability,” he said.
New York City’s 2019 Tenant Stability & Tenant Protection Act, along with multiple city-wide local laws and regulations, also played a role in the migration of investment dollars from multi-unit housing into the 2- to 4-family properties, Tsougranis said.
“Investors don’t want capped rents with free market expenses in a high-inflation environment,” he said. “The increased voucher rents expand the gross potential rents for these properties and the return on investment.”
Buyers who are not investors are mostly local individuals and families from the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan areas of New York City. Tsougranis is confident of a healthy spring market.
